Age is only a number for this 29 y/o who switched from textiles to tech

Rahul Tulasyan is a 29-year old Software Developer from the city of Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Originally from Bihar, he completed his school as an excellent student while being a national-level basketball player and a violinist. Though the talented lad of a successful entrepreneur father, he did not limit himself from pursuing a course that had been his sole passion for all these years- the subject being Computer Science. As a young individual, he was always intrigued by understanding technology and its fundamentals to be able to develop his own programs when he grew up.

Like most students, he went to Kota after the 12th grade to prepare for JEE in order to secure a seat for himself at IIT. However, his fate took him to VIT, Pune where he opted for B.Tech in Computer Science. The next 4 years were spent building a foundation for himself as a developer. 

While he graduated with a sense of hope that he would soon join NIT after clearing its examinations, his family required him to assist his father in his textile business. Choosing his family over his career, he decided to take charge of the sales of his family business for the next 4 years and keep his dream aside for the time being. Read more about the conversation to find out what made him change his mind later and what led him to Masai School.  

What made you leave your father’s business and turn towards programming after so many years?

I had made a deal with my father that once I would be done helping him in stabilizing the textile business, I would go back to fulfilling my dream of becoming a developer. As I left his firm to start afresh, I realized that by then the knowledge I had received in college was outdated. The tech industry is on a constant rise and it changes very rapidly every single day. It became difficult for me to get myself a decent job.

I decided to spend time learning about new industry standards by signing up on Chegg India (in the hope that it will help me in polishing my existing skills). 

So what followed next? Were you able to learn what you expected?

Actually, no, I didn’t. It only enabled me to solve problems with the knowledge I already had but I didn’t get the leverage to learn something new of it. Moreover, it only required me to solve problems theoretically – what I needed was to learn things practically to make myself job-ready. 

How did you find out about Masai School?

Being the son of an entrepreneur, I have a habit of keeping an eye out in the business world. I have a habit of keeping myself updated with the latest funding and investments. While reading the news one fine day in 2019, I read about Masai and its recent funding. Apart from being intrigued by its ISA that stated one would only have to pay the fees once they land themselves a job of more than Rs.5 LPA, I also got immersed in the idea of starting things afresh with a renowned institution. 

I consulted with my family and after receiving their permission and support, I went ahead and signed up for the part-time batch that is specifically designed for students who graduated or post-graduated in Computer Science or working professionals.

What was different in the course that you opted for?

In the part-time course, we had the leverage of spending fewer hours during the week as opposed to the regular 9-to-9 batch. This was due to the reason that I and my 20 peers were already well-versed with the fundamentals of development. Our batch included either dropouts, working professionals, or graduating students who wanted to hone their skills in a better way and become ready to work as per the new industry standards. 

Even though our course did not have rigid timings as compared to the other batch, I did not find any loophole when it came to discipline. All the mentors were super dedicated to preparing us for the future hurdles and I must say that these 6 months turned out to be better than the time I had spent in college (in terms of quality and practice).

Did you work on any project while studying at Masai?

Yes, we were not just limited to theoretical knowledge of things – it was duly made sure that whatever we learned had to be applied to given problems every single day. Also to solve DSA, we worked on Spring Boot for better learning. Apart from regular assignments, I also worked on a project for OLX with 2-3 other batchmates where we developed the entire backend for it. It felt wonderful when we submitted our project on AWS and I still hope to connect with them again to update the app with new features. 

To summarise, how would you define your overall experience?

It was amazing and I mean it. Masai School not only focused on fine-tuning our technical skills but also made sure to enhance our soft skills that are needed to thrive in the corporate world. We were mentored by special experts from the industry every few days and it was truly a treat to interact with such eminent personalities on a personal level. With this kind of offering, I believe Masai will be the flagbearer of unconventional institutions for education in our country. 

Lastly, how did the placements go for you?

After graduating, I waited for 2 months to get placed because of the pandemic. However, it was worth the wait! The mentors at Masai made sure to constantly motivate me during this time and it is only because of such support that I got placed as a Junior SDE at PagarBook.

The Masai Experience

It is inspiring to see how Rahul did not give up on the hopes of starting his career all over again. His dedication and willingness to achieve his goal of becoming a developer paid off well only because he believed in Masai. He truly makes the phrase ‘Age is just a number’ a reality and shows how it’s never too late to listen to your inner calling.